NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, one of the midland coun-
ties of England, bounded by a greater number of counties
than any other like division of England, having on the N.
the counties of Leicester, Rutland, and Lincoln; E. those
of Cambridge, Huntingdon, and Bedford; S. those of Buck-
ingham and Oxford; and W. Warwickshire. It lies be-
tween 51. 59. and 52. 40. N. Lat., and 0. 8. and 1. 20.
W. Long. It is about 66 miles in length; the breadth in
the widest part is 26 miles, in the narrowest not more than
8 miles. Its extent is 630,358 acres, of which probably
580,000 are arable, pasture, and meadow land. In 1841
the population was 139,228; in 1851 it had increased to
212,380, occupying 43,942 houses.
In ancient British times this county was the most south-
ern part of the Coritani; by the Romans it was included in
the province of Flavia Caesariensis. The Roman roads
Watling Street and Ermine pass through it; the former on
the S.W. from Towchester to Lisle, the latter enters by
Castor, and branches off at Upton. In the Saxon period
this county made part of the kingdom of Mercia. It suf-
fered repeatedly and severely from the incursions of the
Danes. Simon De St Liz, a follower of William the Con-
queror, having received from his sovereign the town of
Northampton to find shoes for his horses, fortified it, and
built the castle at the west entrance. During the 12th
century many councils were held at Northampton. The
battle which decided the fate of Charles I. was fought at
Naseby, June 14, 1645. Besides an obelisk erected a mile
to the east of the scene of action, the "Sulby hedges" still
remain as a more exact landmark.
The whole of the county is within the diocese of Peter-
borough, with the exception of three parishes, Gretton, Nas-
sington, and King's Sutton, which are in the diocese of Lincoln.
It forms an archdeaconry, containing 293 parishes, of which
172 are rectories, 93 vicarages, and 29 perpetual curacies.
From the census of 1851, it appears that in this county
there were at that time 592 places of worship, having in all
151,687 sittings. Of these, 292 places of worship belonged
to the Episcopalians, 122 to various bodies of Methodists,
87 to Baptists, 56 to Independents, 6 to Quakers, 6 to
Roman Catholics, 4 to Latter-day Saints, 3 to Moravians,
and 16 to other bodies. The number of Sunday-schools
was 426, with 33,614 scholars. Of the former, 257 be-
longed to the Episcopalians, 68 to Methodists, 52 to Bap-
tists, and 39 to Independents. Of day-schools there were
276 public, with 18,969 scholars; and 411 private, with
7555 scholars. Of the public schools, 169 were supported
by religious bodies, 88 by endowments, and 14 by general
or local taxation. There were also 15 evening schools for
adults, and 8 literary and scientific institutions.
By the Reform Bill the county was divided into two
divisions, N. and S., each containing ten hundreds, and re-
turning two members. The election for the northern
division is held at Kettering, and the polling-places are
Kettering, Peterborough, Oundle, Wellingborough, and
Clipstone. The election for the southern is held at Nor-
thampton, and the other polling-places are Daventry, Tow-
Chester, and Brackley. Two members are also returned for
Peterborough, and two for Northampton.
This county, although destitute of any bold or striking
scenery, presents an agreeable variety of hill and dale,
bearing those marks of cultivation which indicate industry
and comfort on the part of the occupiers. The general ele-
vation of the land is about 300 feet above the level of the
sea; and the highest point, Arbury Hill, in the neighbour-
hood of Daventry, rises only to the height of 804 feet above
sea-level. Owing to this absence of elevations, and to the
inland position of the county, it is less subject to heavy
and continued rains than most parts of England. The
climate is mild and salubrious; and the soil is generally
rich and fertile. It is pretty equally divided for the pur-
poses of tillage and grazing. Some of the farmers are
great cattle-breeders, but the majority purchase beasts to
fatten them for the market. Another agreeable feature is
the great number of noblemen's seats, and the mansions of
the gentry, with the parks and plantations that adorn them.
The woodlands are extensive, consisting chiefly of the re-
mains of the royal forests of Rockingham, Salcey, and
Whittlebury, with the chases of Geddington and Yardley.
The ash is the staple timber tree of the county, and fetches
a high price.
The county is not remarkable for mineral productions.
Limestone is abundant, and within the last few years the
soil has been worked for ironstone in the neighbourhood of
Northampton and along the line of the Peterborough Rail-
way, and has been found to yield a tolerably large per-
centage. Good clay for bricks and tiles is to be met with
in many parts; there are also quarries for roofing-slabs.
The only navigable river in this county is the Nene, or
Nene. It rises in the western part, flows across the county,
and then runs N. till it enters the German Ocean by Lin-
colnshire. The Welland rises at Sibbertoft, and forms a
boundary between the county and Leicestershire and Rut-
land. The other rivers, the Ouse, the Avon, the Severn, and
the Charwell, which, like the two former, have their sources
in Northamptonshire, are but inconsiderable rivulets till they
enter the adjoining counties. Previous to the construction
of railways the canals were important aids to inland traffic.
The Oxford Canal connects the county with that city. The
Grand Junction Canal, communicating on the one hand
with London, and on the other with Liverpool and Man-
chester, passes through the county, and is navigable for
barges of 60 tons burden. The Grand Union Canal con-
nects it with Leicester.
At the period of the Reformation the number of religious
houses, including colleges and hospitals, amounted to nearly
sixty. Of the great abbeys, Peterborough is the only one
that has been preserved entire; to which may be added the
collegiate churches of Fotheringay, Higham-Ferrers, and
Irthlingborough. The principal monastic remains are to
be found at Daventry, Canons' Ashby, and Dingley. The
county is rich in almost every style of ecclesiastical archi-
tecture. As specimens of the early Norman style may
be mentioned the churches at Earl's Barton, Barnack,
Brixworth, Brigstock, Castor, Spratton, Barnwell, and
Twywell. Of ancient mansions the most deserving of
notice are Castle-Ashby, the seat of the Marquis of Nor-
thampton, of which the oldest part was built in the reign
of Henry VIII.; and Burghley House, near Stamford,
built by Queen Elizabeth's lord treasurer, and now the
seat of the Marquis of Exeter. Kirby Hall, near Rock-
ingham, built by Sir Christopher Hatton, is now falling
rapidly to decay, though habitable within the last half
century. Althorpe, the seat of Earl Spencer, of uncertain
date, but restored by the Earl of Sunderland in 1688, claims
notice for its magnificent library, formed principally by the
grandfather of the present Earl (1858), being the richest
in early printed works of any private collection in the
world. Of the crosses erected by Edward I. in memory of
his queen Eleanor which still remain, two out of three are
in this county—one at Hardingstone, near Northampton,
and the other at Geddington.
Of celebrated persons, who were natives of this county
or connected with it, the following may be mentioned:—
Robert Brown, founder of the sect of the Independents,
born at Tolthorpe, in Rutlandshire; John Dryden and
Thomas Fuller, born at Aldwinckle; James Hervey, author
of the Meditations, born at Hardingstone, and died at
North Cape Weston Favell; Bishop Wilkins; William Law, author of The Serious Call, born at King's Cliffe; Dr Doddridge, born in London, but resident at Northampton, minister of the Castle-Hill Meeting-House, and tutor of the Dissenting Academy in that town; Parkhurst, the biblical lexicographer; Dr Paley; and Dr Carey, the missionary and oriental scholar, born at Paulerspury. Two of America's greatest sons were connected with this county. Franklin's ancestors had a freehold estate of about 30 acres for at least 300 years at Ecton, five miles from Northampton, where they carried on the trade of blacksmiths. General Washington was the great-grandson of John Washington, of Sulgrave, who emigrated to America in 1637, and whose great-grandfather, Lawrence Washington, was mayor of Northampton in 1532 and 1548. At Northborough Oliver Cromwell's wife died, and his favourite daughter, Elizabeth, married Sir John Claypole, the lord of the manor, the chapel of whose family remains attached to the parish church. At Abington, Shakespeare's favourite grand-daughter, who married Sir John Bernard, lived and lies buried there. It would be unpardonable to omit the name of the late George Baker, whose History and Antiquities of the county form a monument of the indefatigable researches and minute accuracy of the author; and which his sister, Miss Baker, his faithful companion and fellow-labourer, by her ample Glossary of Northamptonshire (London, 1854) has made a lasting contribution to the history of our language. (J. E. B.)